“Serious” accusations against late labor leader Cesar Chavez have raised concerns, prompting the United Farm Workers (UFW) union he co-founded to skip this year’s Cesar Chavez Day events.
The UFW made the explosive accusation public in a statement on Tuesday and said it would not participate in this year’s Cesar Chavez Day event on March 31.
Chavez was a civil rights icon who co-founded the UFW in 1962 and led the organization until his death in April 1993 at age 66. The union still represents nearly 5,000 farmworkers.
What are the charges?
United Farm Workers did not provide any specific details or first-hand confirmation of the claims, saying it did not report them directly. However, in a statement released on Tuesday, the union said it had been informed that Chavez had “behaved in a manner that is incompatible with the values ​​of our organization.”
The union described accusation There are two categories, family is important and there are more serious things.
“Some of the reports were domestic matters and not the story we were telling or the place we were commenting. Even more disturbing are the allegations involving the abuse of young women or minors. The allegations that very young women or girls may have been victimized are shocking,” the union said.
The Cesar Chavez Foundation said it is working with the UFW to respond. “We are deeply shocked and saddened by the news we heard,” the statement said.
Also read: Gold Star Wife Hits Back at Joe Kent During Iran War Resignation: ‘You Can’t…’
What did the UFW do about this?
The union said it would not participate in any upcoming Cesar Chavez Day events and was working to establish a formal, independent process to hear from those who may have been harmed.
“In the coming weeks, we will work with experts in such processes to work to establish an external, confidential, independent channel for those who may have been harmed by Cesar Chavez early in the UFW’s history,” the union said in a statement.
March 31 is Cesar Chavez Day, a state holiday in California, Arizona, Washington and Utah. Chavez, who died in 1993, co-founded the UFW in the 1960s with activist Dolores Huerta.
